The Hostile Takeover Job
by MissyLaMotte
Summary: When his favorite organic foodstore gets threatened by an aggressive competitor, Eliot brings the team in to help the shopkeeper out. casefic, a bit Eliot-centred.
1. Annie's Foodbasket

"I thought you said you grow all your food yourself", Hardison complained. He was struggeling with four reusable shopping bags Eliot had make him carry back from the farmer's market.

"There's only so much you can do in a rooftop garden", the hitter explained matter-of-factly. "We just have to make one more stop and then we are all set."

"What else do you need?" Hardison asked resignation clearly audible in his voice.

"Honey. I used to have my own bees, but the neighbors complained and I had to get rid of them. So we'll have to stop at Annie's to get some organic thyme honey."

"Who's Annie?" Hardison asked. Eliot did not answer but crossed the street and headed for a small shopfront. The sign read "Annie's Foodbasket". One of the shopwindows was broken. A woman with short brown curls who was probably in her early thirties was wrestling with a large piece of plywood trying to close the gap. Eliot shoved the shopping bags he was carrying into Hardison's arms and rushed inside. The bellchimes over the door gave a nice melodic ring when he pushed it open. The woman looked up at him.

"Eliot. My favorite customer!" She smiled, but her smile faded when the plyboard started to slide out of her hands. Eliot swiftly stepped to her side and extended a hand to keep the board from crashing to the floor.

"Hi Annie!", he said. "What happened to the window?"

"Baseball", was all she offered as explanation while she started to hammer the board in place. After a few hits she winced and let the arm with the hammer sink to her side for a moment. Eliot noticed that her wrist was bandaged.

"You're hurt?"

"I sprained my wrist in a bike accident the other day. It's nothing, really."

Eliot shook his head. "Let me finish this for you", he offered.

"You don't need to do that", Annie protested, but Eliot had already braced the board in place with his hip and gently took the hammer from her.

"My pleasure", he said simply. Annie smiled and touched his shoulder affectionately.

"Thank you. That's really nice of you." Then her gaze fell on the glass door and she laughed. "I better go and let your friend in", she said. Hardison, trying to balance all seven shopping bags at the same time, was struggling to turn the doorknob. Annie opened it for him and caught two of the bags as Hardison lost the fight against gravity.

"Why don't you set your bags down there at the counter while you take a look around" Annie suggested cheerfully. "You have not been here before, have you?", she asked.

Eliot laughed once. "Hardison? Not likely."

Hardison put down the shopping bags thankfully and looked around. The store was tiny, but the high shelves were filled with everything from fresh produce to chocolate. There even was a small cooler with dairy products and fresh milk. "All organic", Annie explained and there was a certain pride in her voice. Eliot hammered a last nail into the plyboard.

"That should hold till you get new glass in"

"Thanks a lot", Annie smiled.

"You're more than welcome."

"No, really, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. I had such a crappy day ... a streak of crappy days, actually. It's just so good to have something nice happen for a change." Eliot frowned at that.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked. Annie shook her head.

"No, seriously, you have done enough. What do you need, by the way?"

"Thyme honey. I am going to bake Russian honey bread for desert. We are having a bit of a celebration at work, a job well done"

"Nice", Annie commented while she rounded one of the shelves and came back with a honey jar. "You're lucky. That's the last one. I have to order new supplies anyway."

"Oh, in that case, could you get me some of those turnip seeds again? I wanted to save them, but I was out of town when they flowered, so I gonna need new ones."

"Sure, no prob. I'll just write it down", Annie offered. Hardison still wandered through the shelves, looking a bit awstruck.

"This place looks like the grocery store my Nana used to take me to. I haven't seen a store like this for years", he said. Annie offered him a huge smile.

"Yeah. That's one of the things I try to do here. I mean, it is about the organic and sustainability thing, of course, but I also try to make this shop feel as cozy and secure as possible. I have customers, mostly elderly people, who come here just because of that, because they feel lost in a large supermarket."

"And you are doing a wonderful job with it", Eliot assured her. "You know, sometimes, when I had a bad day at work, I just come here and buy something because the place always cheers me up. And sometimes I sit down in that little caf over there and just watch the people coming out of your little shop, and I swear to you, they all smile when they leave here." Annie bit her lower lip and blushed a bit.

"You should not make fun of me", she said and busied herself writing down Eliot's order.

"I'm not making fun. It's true."

"Do you want to give me your phone number?" Annie asked. Eliot looked confused for a moment. Annie laughed. "So I can call you when the order gets in", she explained.

"Oh, yeah, sure"

She took down the number. When Eliot wanted to pay for the honey, she refused.

"No, that's on the house. For the help with the window"

"Thanks. Take care now!" Eliot gathered up the shopping bags and shoved some of them towards Hardison.

"And you", Annie smiled. "Have fun with your dinner tonight."

"My Nana would have loved this place. Seriously." Hardison said. "Keep it just as it is."

"I'm trying to", Annie said quietly to the closing door when they both had gone.


	2. Honey Bread

_Thanks for reviewing and/or adding me to watchlist. I will try to upload a chapter a day till this story is finished. If things go as planned (do they ever?) the story should need about 10 chapters of roughly 1000 words each. Today's is a bit shorter, I had to work late. What I do for a living? Well, I work in an organic foodstore, of course ;) Please, keep reviewing. I love reviews. English is not my native language and I am struggling with it a bit. I am eager to learn, though and will not be offended if you point out any errors I make. So feel absolutely free to tell me where I messed up._

* * *

"To a job that went perfectly smooth", Nate toasted. The other clinked their wine glasses together.

"And to a perfect meal", Sophie added and raised her glass towards Eliot. He accepted the praise with a small nod.

"It's not over yet. There is still desert."

"Oh, mercy, I can't eat another bite", the grifter complained.

"Well, I surely can, so I say: bring it on"

Eliot smiled at the greedy tone in Hardison's voice and got up to fetch the tray with the freshly baked honey bread from the kitchen.

"You should never eat so much that there is no room for desert. Desert is the most important part of a meal", Parker declared.

"Why is that?", Nate ventured to ask, even though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Desert is when you steal the watches", Parker explained. Sophie smiled.

"Good point"

"What? Why? Tell me, why do you steal watches during desert?", Hardison wanted to know.

"Easy", Parker explained. "In the beginning, everyone is hungry. They have their eyes on the apetizers and both hands on the table, forks at the ready. Perfect moment to go for necklaces. They are so busy swallowing, that they don't notice when you fumble at their necks opening the catch."

Nate looked from her to Sophie, who nodded.

"Sounds reasonable, it's what I would do ... if I were into that sort of thing, that is", she added hastily when Nate frowned at her.

"Then", Parker continued, "the main course. Everyone is still all about the meal, they still need both hands, so hands are on the table where everyone can see them. Still a no go on the watches. But it's a perfect opportunity for wallets. It's totally natural to touch someone or brush along his clothes when you ask them to pass you the platter or when you reach for the salt shaker. Piece of cake."

Hardison remembered how Parker had demanded the salt earlier and hastily checked for his wallet. It was still there. Parker smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry. I just borrowed your cellphone"

She drew it out of her pocket and gave it back to him.

"What did you borrow it for?", he asked suspiciously.

"Just because I could", Parker answered.

"So", Eliot announced, carrying in the large silver tray on which he had decorativly piled slices of honey bread, "desert!"

Parker took that as a cue to continue her explanation.

"And when desert is served, people already start to get tired ... food coma. They relax on their chairs a bit. Plus they need only a spoon for the desert ... if they need cutlery at all ..." Parker looked pointedly at Hardison who already extended a greedy hand towards the tray.

"And chances are, they drop the left hand to their sides, under the table", Sophie completed.

"Watchpicking time", Parker ended with dramatic emphasis.

A mobile phone played "Hotel California. Eliot looked confused.

"That's mine!", he exclaimed. "Parker, what are you doing with my cellphone?"

"Borrowed it", she smiled, dug it out of her pocket and flicked it towards him. Eliot caught it in a fluent motion and opened it on the third ring.

"Yeah?"

"Main course", Hardison couldn't help clarifying. "She did that during the main course"

Eliot needed a second to recognize Annie's voice through the phone.

"Eliot! Thank God! Don't eat the honey!" she burst out. The panic in her voice was enough to let Eliot act without further explanation. He knocked the slice of honey bread out of Hardison's hand just as he was about to devour it.

"Hey man!" the hacker protested, misinterpreting Eliot's action. "I did not know that Parker was stealing your mobile!"

Eliot just glared at him.

"What's wrong with the honey, Annie?" he asked. There was something in his voice that got everyone's attention at once and the rest of the team silently looked at him when he put the cellphone on speaker.

"It might be poisoned", Annie answered for all of them to hear. Eliot cocked his head at Hardison who turned a bit pale under his black skin. Parker slowly laid the piece of honey bread she already had in her hand back unto the tray eyeing it suspiciously as if it were about to bite her.

"I think we should talk", Eliot told Annie. "I'll come and pick you up."


	3. The Right Kind of Shady

**A/N:**_Hi, back with a new chapter. Sorry it took me longer than I thought. I tried to arrange for someone to beta this, but assumedly it did not work out for I have not heard back in a while. Since so many of you have added this thing to story alert, I do not want to keep you waiting any longer with this, so here comes the third chapter in all its non -betaed glory :) As always you are welcome to throw each and every spelling error, grammar mishap and illogicality into my face. Please, review your heart out, I'd love to hear from you if you like this. And if you don't, I'd still like to know._

* * *

Annie was sitting at one side of the long office table, facing Eliot and his colleagues.

"I really don't know what to say", she began. "I am so sorry about what happened. How can I make it up to you?"

Nate raised an eyebrow and looked at Eliot. The hitter rounded the table and squatted down beside Annie's chair.

"You have nothing to apologize for. That's not why I wanted you to come here. I think we can help you."

Annie let her eyes wander from one face to the next. Eliot had introduced her, when he had brought her in. There was Nathan Ford, who seemed to be the one in charge. He held her gaze for a moment, his face motionless but not unkind. Sophie, the beautiful brunette, smiled at her encouragingly. The blond girl, Parker, suspiciously inspected the tray with honey bread that was still sitting on the table.

"Is it really poisoned?", she wanted to know. She didn't sound scared, just curious. When she brought her face closer to the honey bread and sniffed, Hardison pulled her back.

"Don't!"

He sounded worried. Annie couldn't help noticing that he cared for Parker.

"I don't actually know", she said in answer to the blond woman's question.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?", Nate suggested. Annie draw a deep breath. Eliot pulled a chair up and sat down beside her.

"I am not sure what the beginning is, actually. I guess it was when that Farnham guy came by. He said he worked for FarmFriends and that they were looking to expand their business. He offered me 90,000 $ for Annie's Foodbasket."

"That a good offer?", Nate asked. Annie shrugged her shoulders.

"Not you-can't-turn-it-down excellent, but as a basis for negotiations it wouldn't be too bad. If one wanted to sell. Which I don't, so I told him so."

"Let me guess. He didn't take that too well", Eliot remarked.

"Yeah, you could say that. I mean, he stayed pleasant enough, smile never leaving his face and all ... just, when he left he mentioned something on how difficult it is to run an independent little business these days. He left his business card and said I should call him when I changed my mind. That's what he said: 'when' not 'if'. And shortly after that the trouble started." Annie paused.

"What kind of trouble are we talking here?" Hardison asked.

"You know, it started with little things. I didn't even make the connection at first. Someone placed a dead rat under the shelf with the fresh produce. A drunk guy showed up in the shop, knocking things over, bothering the other customers. He left when I threatened to call the police. Then that kid which bashed my window in with the baseball. I am pretty sure that was on purpose. But it's nothing you can call the cops on."

"Sounds like the stuff used in a protection racket", Eliot quipped in. "Typical mob methods."

For a moment Annie looked at him as if she wanted to ask him how he knew about stuff like that, but then she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe, yes. Only in this case it is not about protection money, more of a hostile takeover."

"Still a pretty nasty way of blackmailing someone", Hardison said.

"What about your bike accident?" Eliot carefully touched Annie's bandaged arm. "Do you think that had something to do with it, too?"

"Could be. I am really not sure. Riding a bicycle in city traffic always involves a certain risk. A car cut me off at a crossroad, nothing unusual. I fell and by the time I had sorted myself out enough to look around, it was gone already", she explained.

"Hit and run", Nate commented. Annie nodded.

"But it happened on your way home from the store?", Eliot wanted to know.

"Yes"

"Then let's assume it is part of this as well. Which means they have no scruples to hurt someone. Which pisses me off." Eliot's voice had turned into a growl.

"So where does the poison honey thing come in?" Hardison asked. "Why did you call Eliot when you did?"

"Remember when you got the honey I told you it was the last one?" The hacker and the hitter both nodded. "Well, when I looked into the shelf with the honey to see what other varieties I had to restock, I found this." She drew a little piece of paper out of the backpocket of her jeans and placed it on the table.

"This vessel of honey has been poisoned. Eat it and you will die." Parker read aloud, pulling a face. "Not very subtle."

"Interesting choice of words. Vessel. Who says something like that nowadays?" Nate wondered. "Where do the letters come from?"

The note was pasted together, the individual words cut out and plastered into the right order. The script was small.

"Does not look like a newspaper to me", Sophie said. Hardison whistled softly.

"No, it isn't. It's from a book. Probably the bible."

"The bible? Why would someone cut a ransom note from a bible?" Parker wondered. "He religious or something?"

"Or something", Nate answered. "Think about it. You find a Gideon bible in every hotel room and who knows where else. You take it, cut out the words you need, you dump or you burn the rest. Those bibles are printed in the millions, much harder to place or date than a newspaper."

"Makes sense", Eliot admitted. "But we still don't know if the threat is for real or not. Would it be possible to mess with the honey without anyone noticing? When it is already in the shelf?" He looked at Annie questioningly.

"Sure. I mean, I normally don't have too many customers at once, so I see most of what they are doing, but I cannot be everywhere at once. And honey is relatively easy to mess with. It preserves well, so it is not vacuum sealed. You have no chance of knowing if the jar has been opened before or not when you buy it. For that reason some larger producers seal their glasses anyway, at least with a paper seal, but many smaller local beekeepers don't."

"Well, we will get the honey analyzed and see, what's in there", Nate decided. "Hardison, find a lab that will do that."

"Already on it", Hardison said, typing away at the laptop.

"But anyway, this is something you can call the police on", Eliot suggested. "Whether it is really poisoned or not, it definitely is a threat and you have the note to proof it."

Annie sighed.

"You're right. It's just ... I rather wouldn't. Call the police, I mean."

Eliot did not ask why; he just looked at her and waited for her to continue.

"You know, running a grocery store, you have all kinds of health and safety regulations. Those rules, they are not bad or anything, they are just ... you know ... cut out for the supermarkets and food chains and stuff. It is almost impossible to do all that with a small store. That's why I try to stay under the radar as much as possible with the Foodbasket. An official health inspection would pretty certainly close me down."

"I understand", Nate said. "That means, we have to fix it another way."

"What do you mean 'we'? It's not your problem. It's mine", Annie said.

"I told you. We can help", Eliot said.

"But how? Why? I mean, I thought you are a consulting company?"

"We are", Nate confirmed. "We are specialized in helping individuals and small businesses who run into exactly this kind of trouble."

"But I cannot afford a consulting agency. I am lucky when I can pay my rent at the end of the month", Annie protested.

"Don't worry about that", Sophie smiled. "We work on ..."

"... an alternative revenue stream", the whole team chorused. Annie looked confused.

"Sounds like bullshit bingo to me."

"What's bullshit bingo?" Eliot asked.

"You never worked a 9to5, hm?" Nate smiled. The hitter shook his head.

"Guess not"

"Bullshit bingo is what you play in business meetings of any kind ... you write down three industry buzzwords that you think the speaker will definitely use. The player who first strikes all his guesses wins", Hardison explained. Parker clapped her hands.

"That sounds fun. We should do that for Hardison's briefings."

"Hey, my briefings are completely non-bullshit material", Hardison protested. "They are the fruits of my honest work brought to your attention."

"I'd choose telephone trace, security camera and police record ...", Eliot pretended to play along.

"Nate! Do you hear how they are not honoring my effort here? Do you hear that? I spent hours on my computer and what do I get? Ri-Di-Culed!" Hardison stabbed with his finger at the air which each syllable for more emphasis.

"You spent all your time on your computer anyway", Parker said.

"Yeah, but I could watch the new episode of Supernatural or play my WoW instead of finding out all about FarmFriends Foods and our friend Mr. Farnham here, and that would be much more exciting", Hardison retorted.

"Let's see what you got", Nate said and Hardison switched his laptop desktop over to the four monitors which occupied most of the office wall.

"FarmFriends Foods is a chain of supermarkets specializing in organic products. They spread out like a tumor, aggressively pushing smaller competitors out of the market. Think WalMart, only with biodynamic tomatoes. They don't have any stores here in Boston yet, not even an administrative office. Which lead me to the question why Annie's Mr. Farnham uses a local phone number on his business card. I retraced the number and found a small ...", he paused and looked around apologetically, "... consutling agency in his name. I pulled his police record. He has done some shady stuff, has been on trial several times for blackmail, coercion and fraud, but has never been convicted. There is a second company in his name, a credit enforcement agency, which means he has probably a whole bunch of nasty lowlifes working for him who are good at threatening people. I found a recording from a security camera showing ..."

Eliot hit the table with his hand and smiled broadly.

"Bullshit Bingo!" he mouthed silently to Parker. The blonde laughed.

"Do you want to hear this or what?", Hardison asked slightly offended.

"You two, cut it out", Nate admonished the thief and the hitter, even though he had difficulties to keep the smile off his face himself. "Go on!" he urged Hardison.

"I found a recording showing Farnham meeting with Korlakov ... that's Igor Korlakov, Russian mob credit shark, right there, so we get a general idea on what kind of guy we are dealing with here."

Eliot stopped smiling and glanced worriedly at Annie.

"Maybe you should close your store for a while? Go on a vacation or something?"

"I can't do that", she protested. "I have a business to run. If I close the store, people will look for other places to buy their food, I will lose customers. I can't afford that. It's difficult enough as it is."

"Still, Eliot's right", Nate said. "This guy is dangerous. You should not be alone in this. Eliot will have your back while you're in the store. He will pass as your new shop assistant. The rest of us will take a closer look at Farnham Consulting tomorrow. See if we find an angle on how we can work this."

"Be careful though ... you won't have me guarding your back." Eliot cautioned him. Nate nodded.

"I always thought consultants were a bit shady", Sophie admitted.

"Well, actually we are kind of shady ourselves, come to think of it", Hardison reminded her. Annie smiled.

"Yes, you are. But I think you are the right kind of shady."


	4. Shop Assistant

**A/N:** _Thanks for your enthusiastic reviews. They really make this worthwhile. I'll try to keep my side of the bargain and update regularily. Don't know about tomorrow though, tomorrow I have to work late (at the organic food store ... being Annie ;) minus the nice shop assistant)_

* * *

Eliot finished sweeping the floor and carried the brush and bucket back to the broom closet.

"What do you want me to do now?" he asked.

Annie shook her head.

"I want you to sit down and relax ... you are just pretending, remember? You don't have to work your ass off. Have a coffee or something."

"But we want it to look real", Eliot said. "I can't just lurk around." He had tied back his hair with a bandana and was wearing the same kind of apron as Annie.

"Believe me, if I had a shop assistant for real, I'd give him time off to have a coffee. I could do with one myself, by the way", she added. Eliot smiled.

"In that case ... coffee it is"

He went into the small office which also held a kitchenette and switched on the water kettle. Annie continued to put price tags on the new stocks which had arrived this morning. It had been a slow day so far. At least the glazier had been there to replace the shop window. Annie and Eliot had used the relative quiet to check all the shelves for more unpleasant surprises like the honey, but had not found anything.

"Maybe I'm paranoid and it is just a series of unfortunate happenstances", Annie mused as Eliot returned with two steaming mugs of café con lecce. The hitter grimaced.

"No such luck, I'm afraid. Hardison just told me that the lab did find a substantial amount of Difethialone in the honey. That's a second generation rodenticide. Pretty lethal", he explained.

"Rat poison? When did you talk to Hardi... oh, it's that earbud thing, yeah? How are they doing?"

"They are fine. They are just about to get into Farnham's office."

"Do I want to know the details?", Annie asked sceptically. Eliot shook his head.

"No, you probably don't."

A customer came in and cut their conversation short. Eliot took the coffee mugs back to the sink while Annie showed the young man where to find all the items on his shopping list.

"I normally don't do the grocery shopping", he explained, a little embarrassed. "It's just, my wife is expecting our second child any day now and is not very mobile anymore." He gestured to show the magnitude of her belly. Annie laughed.

"That's so nice. Do you already know if it will be a boy or a girl?", she asked.

"A girl. A little sister for our Joey. He is three."

Annie grabbed a paper bag and filled it with fresh fruits.

"Here, take some of those grapes and a few apples. Compliments from the house. At this time your wife surely can do with the extra vitamins and they won't hurt your little boy either."

"Oh, thank you, that's so nice"

Eliot joined them at the counter and started to pack the items into a paper bag after Annie typed the prices in the cash register, but the man stopped him.

"No no, my wife gave me this." He lifted a large tote. "She is very much into this reuse/recycle thing."

"Which we totally support, of course", Eliot said and felt a bit useless as the man packed away his shopping.

"28 Dollars and 63, please", Annie said.

The customer reached for the back pocket of his jeans.

"Oh, oh no ... I think I might have left my money at home." He took off his baseball cap and nervously ran a hand trough his hair. "Could I just leave this stuff here? I'll be write back with the money to pick it up."

Annie smiled.

"Yes, of course. You can also take it with you, if you want. I trust you to come back and pay later."

"No, I can't do that. You don't even know me. Please, I will be back as soon as possible."

"No hurry", Annie said. "I'll just put your bag behind the counter."

He passed it to her and she deposited it in the case that held her supply of paper bags.

After that a continuous stream of customers kept Annie and Eliot busy for almost half an hour. Many of them were regulars and Annie had to tell the story of her new shop assistant over and over again. Eliot smiled broadly, packed paper bags and tried to stay out of Annie's way while checking people and surroundings for signs of anything unusual. When they finally had the shop to themselves again, Annie leaned against the counter with a deep breath.

"Phew ... what a stampede ... seriously, sometimes it is like the hordes of Gengis Khan storm in."

Eliot gave no reaction but stared at the air in front of him, one hand lightly touching his ear.

"Eliot?", Annie asked. He shook his head and held out his hand in a 'hold-on' gesture.

"Parker? Hardison? What's going on there? Was that Parker screaming? Nate? Sophie? Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

When he looked at Annie again, she saw worry written on his face.

"I think Parker got caught. The others don't know anything yet. I ... I should have been there. I knew it was a bad idea to let her go in without backup."

He was tense and Annie saw his eyes move from her to his truck, which was parked outside.

"Go!", she said. "I'll be fine."

Eliot put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you", he said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Take care!" Annie called after him, as he sprinted out of the door.


	5. These Boots Keep You from Walking

**A/N:** _Thank you so much for the reviews. It's really nice to know that people are actually reading this. Okay, on we go. This chapter was pretty difficult to write ... lots of stuff going on in different places at once. I hope it's not too confusing. _

* * *

"So, how do you want to play it?", Sophie asked, when she and Nate approached the building where Farnham's office was located with the van.

"We'll draw him out of his office, so that Parker can copy his hard drive and snoop around in his office for further information", Nate explained innocently and extra patient. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"I know that. I didn't ask for the 'what' I asked for the 'how'"

"Yeah, and explain to me again why you wanted to change cars for this one?" Hardison chimed into the conversation via earbud.

"Do you have any objections to driving the Roadster?", Nate asked.

"No, it's cool. It just is a bit crammed with the equipment and such. Plus it attracts more attention than the van. So I just don't get it."

"What does Farnham drive again?", Nate wanted to know.

"A blue Chevy, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Massachusetts license plate, 465 IFW?"

"That's the one."

"Got it. Sophie, hold on tight!"

Without further ado Nate swerved to the right and rammed into Farnham's car. Sophie screamed as the airbag blew up and threw her back on her seat.

"Nate!" she screamed.

"You all right?"

"You could have warned me", she complained.

"I kind of did."

Hardison's voice pitched up a notch.

"Did you just crash the van? Is that what this is about? You let me drive your car so that you can go ahead and crash my van?"

"So, it's your van now?" Nate asked.

"Well, our van, the team's van. But I'm attached to it most. This van is my second home."

"I thought the office is your second home", Sophie said.

"No, the office is my first home."

Nate ignored Hardison's nagging and got out of the car. Some pedestrians had stopped and looked at him accusingly. Nate lifted his arms in a helpless gesture.

"I don't know how this could happen. The power steering failed, I lost control."

He went over to the office building and entered the lobby.

"Excuse me", he asked the doorman. "I think I just caused an accident. Do you know whose car that is?"

The doorman craned his neck to see where Nate was pointing.

"The blue Chevy? That would be Mr. Farnham's car, Sir."

"Could you maybe call him up and tell him what happened?", Nate asked. "I would like to apologize in person and settle things with our insurance companies."

The doorman picked up a receiver and after a short low voiced conversation nodded towards Nate.

"Mr. Farnham will be down here instantly."

"Oh, there's no rush", Nate assured him while Sophie joined him.

"Parker, go", he said in a low voice.

* * *

Parker stood beside the huge drum which held the elevator cable and looked down the shaft.

"Hardison, did you deactivate the elevator yet?"

"Yeah, you are ready to rock'n'roll"

With a happy cry Parker jumped into the shaft. As calculated the rope caught her on the level of the second floor. Dangling upside down she forced a big screwdriver into the slit between the metal doors and levered them open wide enough for her to squeeze through.

"What way?" she asked through the com.

"Left. Third door down on the right should be Farnham's office", Hardison directed.

The lock was of the kind you could open with a credit card if you were so inclined. Parker used a short piece of wire instead. She closed the door silently behind her. The office was small, holding only a desk which faced the door, a few filing cabinets and two extra chairs. Every flat surface and even parts of the floor were cluttered with files, notes, empty cigarette packs, candy wrappers and the occasional pizza box. Parker sighed audibly.

"What?" Hardison wanted to know.

"Farnham seems to be a messy. Seriously, I never saw a place that chaotic. It will take me a while to find anything here. Nate, Sophie, stall as long as you can!"

"Start with the computer and the hard drive. Then just work your way from there" Hardison suggested. Parker had already connected the external hard drive she brought with her to the computer and inserted the USB stick holding the alternative operating system which would allow her to bypass Farnham's login and password. While the system booted she scanned through the papers which were lying around.

* * *

Hardison saw a young man approaching the back entrance of the building.

"Parker, someone is about to get into the building through the back", he announced.

"So?"

"What if he is on his way to Farnham's office?"

"What if he isn't?" Parker answered tensely. "I need at least five more minutes."

"Okay, I'll try to find out where he is going and hold him off if he ..." Hardison was interrupted by a knock at the car window.

"Excuse me, Sir, this is a no parking zone", a female parking enforcement officer informed him. "I have to ask you to move your vehicle."

Hardison pulled a grimace which he managed to morph into a pleasant smile.

"Yes, Ma'm, I am aware of that. It is an emergency. My wife is picking up her medication which she left at the office. She will be back any second now." Hardison put a little emphasis on the last words, hoping that Parker was picking up on it.

The officer sighed.

"If you'd know how many emergencies like that I encounter every day on my round", she said impatiently.

"Please. Just a few moments and I'll be gone", Hardison promised.

"Two minutes. If you're still here on my round back, I will fine you."

"Yes Ma'm. Thank you, Ma'm"

She walked off.

"Parker, I lost track of the guy. You have to get out of there now. Plus we'll have the wrath of the Boston Traffic Clerk on ourselves if we don't get lost, soon."

"Almost done", Parker said.

* * *

"See, I told him not to drive under the influence of his medication", Sophie said smiling apologetically at Mr Farnham.

"What do you mean?" Nate raised his voice. "I did not take medication" He grabbed Sophie's arm and pulled her to the side.

"How can you mention the medication", he stage whispered dramatically. "Do you know how much trouble I will be in? I cannot afford another DUI charge."

He turned back towards Farnham.

"Listen, Sir, I am sure we can find a way of settling this like gentlemen. No need to involve the police or the insurance companies in this. Why don't you just tell me how high you estimate the damage to be and I'll double that."

"No you won't", Sophie cut back in. "This is my money you are giving away so generously."

"Your money? You mean your father's money."

Farnham stared as the strange couple who had just crashed his car entered into a marital row of the first degree.

"Hm ... excuse me ...", he tried to interrupt, but was brushed aside by Sophie who lunged at Nate and slapped him in the face.

"I'll divorce you, you cheating, worthless piece of scum", she screamed.

* * *

Parker was just wrapping up and about to leave the office when the door was suddenly pushed open. A young men with a baseball cap entered. Parker slipped the USB drive back into her pocket and looked up with a smile.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked.

The man looked at her confused.

"I am looking for Mr Farnham", he said.

"Do you have an appointment?" Parker wanted to know.

"He is expecting me. Who are you?"

"I am Maggy, his new assistant. And you are?"

"Pretty sure that Bill does not have an assistant", he said and came threateningly close.

"Well, he does now. And looking at this place wouldn't you agree he desperately needs one." Parker tried to keep her voice light and carefree. The attack came fast and unexpected. His fist connected with her face right on her left cheekbone, knocking her back against one of the filing cabinets. With a cry of pain Parker slid to the ground.

* * *

Hardison heard Parker scream and was out of the car and on his way to the building in an instant.

"Parker? What's going on? Are you alright?"

* * *

"No, I did not marry you for the money, I married you because ... could you tell me what is going on here?" Nate changed the topic in midsentence without changing the tone of his voice.

* * *

"Parker? Hardison? What's going on there? Was that Parker screaming? Nate? Sophie? Can anyone tell me what's going on?" Eliot cut in.

* * *

"I lost contact to Parker. I think she got caught by that guy", Hardison explained. "I'm going in. Prepare for a rapid exit"

He tried the back door and found it locked. Cursing he began to run along the building, looking for another way in.

"Nate? Hardison? I'm on my way over. I should be there in five minutes", Eliot reported.

"Yeah, man, hurry. We have to get Parker out of there."

Still not sure how to proceed, Hardison took a look around. He groaned in frustration when he saw the parking enforcement officer standing beside the Tesla, fixing boots to it.

"This is the crappiest job ever", he announced.

Eliots truck pulled up beside him.

"What's the situation?" the hitter asked.

"Parker is still in the building, I have no way in and that woman over there just booted my car. Well, Nate's car. Which is only fair after he crashed my van ..."

He was interrupted by a loud impact.

"What the hell?"

Parker stood up in the bed of the truck and jumped off beside a totally startled Hardison.

"Let's get out of here", she suggested, as she opened the passenger door and climbed in. Hardison looked up to the open window overhead and then followed without objection. Eliot stepped on the accelerator.

"Nate, we're clear. Parker is with us. Get out"

He looked at the blond thief. Even under the baseball cap she was wearing, he could see a large bruise was forming on the left side of her face and her eye was beginning to swell shut, but she smiled.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. That sweep you showed me worked real nice. And you are right, once you have the opponent level with you, the hitting becomes a lot easier."

"Yes, Parker is alright. Let's regroup at the office" Eliot informed Nate via earbud.

"Why did you not talk to us?" Harsidon asked. "We were worried sick for you."

"Oh, right", Parker carefully pulled her earbud from her left ear wincing a little. "I think it most have broken when he punched me or something. I couldn't hear you any longer."

"That must have been quite a blow you took", Eliot commented. "I wear those things in a fight all the time, they don't break easily"

Parker just shrugged it off.

"So how did you know the truck would be there?" Hardison asked.

"I didn't."

"She didn't"

Parker and Eliot chorused.


	6. Cap over Heels

**A/N:**_Thanks for reviewing, subscribing and favoriting , keep telling me what you think. Just a short chapter this time ... just some team banter and tension building._

* * *

As soon as they reached the office, Eliot maneuvered Parker to a chair.

"Let me take a look at that eye. Hardison, get an ice pack from the freezer."

Parker tried to brush him off.

"I'm fine."

"Let me be the judge of that", the hitter said and gently pulled Parker's baseball cap off so he could see better.

"Why do you think you know better than me? It's my eye we are talking about here."

"Because I have a lot of experience with punches from both points of view."

He grabbed Parker's chin with two fingers and turned her head to the side to get a better view.

"We have to keep the swelling down or you won't be able to open your eye at all tomorrow. Do you have any trouble seeing with that eye?"

"No, apart from the fact that I my eyelid kind of gets in the way."

"Okay, good. If you notice blurriness or any other signs of impaired vision, let me know immediately. What about your jaw? Can you open your mouth all the way?"

Obidiently Parker opened her mouth.

"Y aw ih hine" she mumbled.

Hardison returned from the kitchen with an ice pack for Parker and two bottles of beer for Eliot and himself.

"Y oun' I gek a geer?" Parker asked, her mouth still open.

"What?"

"Why don't I get a beer?" she repeated, after bringing her jaw back into a more normal position.

"Because alcoholic beverages are not for the wounded", Hardison proclaimed. Eliot suppressed a laugh.

"I'm not wounded. I'm fine. Besides, a cold beer would help me to keep the swelling down from the inside as well."

But she took the ice pack and pressed it to the left side of her face. Eliot brought his lips close to her left ear and whispered very softly: "Do you know Hardison got Nate's car booted?"

Parker laughed out loud.

"Nate will hate that"

Hardison looked confused.

"What will he hate? What did Eliot say?" he wanted to know.

"I was just checking Parker's hearing. Had to make sure the blow didn't do any damage to her inner ear."

"But what will Nate hate?"

"Yeah, what will I hate?"

Parker, Eliot and Hardison turned towards the office door. Nathan Ford stood in the door frame, carrying Sophie in his arms.

"What happened?" Eliot wanted to know and jumped up to help.

"She broke something", Nate explained, but his voice sounded unconcerned, just a bit breathless from carrying the grifter's weight.

"What? What did you break, Sophie?" Parker asked. Sophie smiled as Nate gently set her down.

"My heel. I knew it was a stupid idea to wear those stilettos, but they fit the dress so well."

Eliot sat down on a chair heavily and took a swig of beer.

"Don't joke with something like that. Just don't, okay?"

Sophie looked at Parker.

"Oh, darling, your face ... what did that piece of scum do to you?"

"Don't worry, he got as good as he gave", Parker chimed.

"Did you find anything?" Nate wanted to know. The thief nodded and took the hard drive out of her pocket. Hardison grabbed it and connected it to his laptop at once.

"How did you break your heel?" Parker asked Sophie.

"Well, Farnham finally decided he had seen enough marital drama and threatened to call the police, so Nate gave him some money to calm him down and ..."

"What?" The thief almost jumped into Nate's face. "How much money did you give him?"

"Two thousand. We'll get it back", he assured.

"... and", Sophie repeated emphatically, taking her stage back, "we got into the van to drive out of there."

"Yeah", Nate took over, "and since we knew you had grabbed a ride with Eliot here, we figured we would pick up the Tesla. And what did we find? A friendly note from the Boston Parking Clerk. Luckily the parking enforcement officer was still around and all to eager to collect the fee and release the boots."

"That was the hating thing, by the way", Eliot explained.

"Hey, you just gave two thousand quid to a total jerk and ruined our van ... how can a parking ticket even begin to bother you, man?" Hardison griped without taking his eyes form his laptop.

"So we decided to take the van directly to the workshop, which we did and there they had this nasty metal grid in front of their garage door and my heel got stuck and broke off", Sophie finished her tale.

"This is not good", Hardison said.

"You bet it isn't. I consider to sue them. Do you know how much I paid for those shoes ..."

"No. This. This is really not good."

Hardison stared at the screen. The rest of the team stared at Hardison. Beat.

"HARDISON! What?" Nate broke the silence.

"Why would you order four pounds of ammonium nitrate?" the hacker asked.

"To blow something up", Parker said at once. "Mix it with a carbon source, put a detonator on it and you have a nice little bomb."

Something in Eliot's head clicked into place. He grabbed the baseball cap Parker had put on the table.

"Parker, where did you get that?" he asked, his voice suddenly husky.

"I stole it from the guy in Farnham's office ... hey, where are you going?"

Eliot was already half out of the door.

"He was at Annie's shop earlier. He left a bag with groceries there", he shouted a rapid explanation.

Nate reacted at once.

"Hardison, call Annie. Tell her to get out. Then call the fire department. Tell them ... tell them there is a probable gas leak and they need to evacuate the area."

Then he sprinted out of the office. He caught the hitter at the elevator.

"Eliot! Wait! We'll take the Tesla. It's faster"


	7. Trash Boom Bang

**_A/N:_** _as always, thank you for your reviews and subscriptions. I am sorry this chapter took me so long to write and is so crappy. I had a lot of other stuff going on in my life __and some writing to do for the Firefly podcast "The Signal".__Btw, evil organic supermarket chain really is opening a store in my hometown in April ... not looking good for the independent little shop where I work. No need to poison our honey, though, they'll just outcompete us with lower prices and a larger assortment. I hate it when life catches up with fiction. And no Eliot Spencer in sight to help us out._

* * *

They made it to Annie's Foodbasket in less than five minutes.

"Hardison, did you reach Annie", Nate asked through the earpiece, while they jumped out of the car.

"No, she did not pick up. But the fire department is on its way."

"Annie!", Eliot yelled as he and Nate sprinted towards the door. Suddenly the shop window seemed to bulge outward like an oversized soap bubble. The hitter threw himself sidewards and tackled Nate to the ground covering him with his body.

"Down!"

The force of the explosion made them skid over the asphalt, and a shower of glass rained down on them. Eliot was back on his feet in an instance.

"You okay?" He extended a hand to help his friend up.

Nate nodded.

"Thanks"

Eliot went for the shop entrance, but the heat forced him back before he even reached the door.

"Annie!"

Sirens could be heard in a distance, drawing closer. Nate stepped to Eliot's side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't go in there. Wait for the firemen."

The noise of the blast had almost deafened him and only slowly the loud whistling sound in his ear subsided and he could make out Hardison's and Sophie's frantic voices.

"Yes, Eliot and I are fine", he assured them. "We don't know about Annie, though."

"I'll check round back", Eliot shouted and dashed off through the nearest alleyway that would take him to the back of the house.

He saw her as soon as he rounded the corner. Annie's motionless body lay between the trash cans under a layer of broken tiles, splintered wood and glass shards.

"Oh, come on, Annie, please!" he begged as he fell to his knees beside her, carefully clearing away the biggest pieces of rubble. He reached for her neck to check her pulse and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt it beating strongly. She stirred and opened her eyes.

"Eliot? Wha ... What happened?" She tried to sit up, but Eliot stopped her.

"Easy, baby. Don't move. Let me check you over first."

Annie cleared her throat and turned her head to spit out some dust.

"I think I'm okay", she said, but did not protest or move away when Eliot ran his hands along her limps and torso, carefully feeling for broken bones or other injuries.

"Looks like you are an extremely lucky girl", he said, finally satisfied. "Can you sit up? Slowly!" He steadied her with a hand to her back when she pushed herself to a sitting position.

"What happened?" Annie asked again.

"What do you remember?"

"I ... I closed down for today and then went to take out the trash. Then nothing." She looked around confused.

"So there was no one else in the shop?" Eliot asked.

Annie shook her head, a motion she instantly regretted.

"No. I had locked up already."

"Thank God for that", Eliot said.

Suddenly Annie remembered something.

"What about the others? Are they alright? Did you get to them in time? Is Parker okay?"

Eliot smiled.

"Yes, they are fine. Parker has a black eye, but she is happy as can be because she knocked the guy out herself."

He listened to something in his earbud.

"Hardison wants to know if he should call an ambulance?"

"No! Absolutely not. I'm fine!" Annie hurried to say. Eliot looked sceptical.

"Can he hear me?", she asked. The hitter nodded. " Hardison! I'm fine. No ambulance", she burst out.

"You don't need to shout", Eliot explained. "He can hear you fine."

"Sorry"

Annie sorted out her legs and began to stand up. With Eliot's help she managed to get to her feet. He supported her while they carefully made their way around the building.

The fire truck had arrived at the scene and the firemen were busy extinguishing the fire in the store. Nate, who had been talking to a police officer, came over when he saw them.

"Annie, where was the bomb when it went off?" he wanted to know.

She looked at him confused.

"Bomb? You mean, there was a bomb in my shop?"

"What did you think it was?" Eliot asked.

"Actually, I haven't been thinking about it at all. I was kind of busy flying into the trash cans. How do you know it was a bomb?"

"It was hidden in the bag of groceries that guy with the baseball cap left. He was the one who hit Parker."

"He works for Farnham", Nate explained.

"No way ... the nice guy with the pregnant wife? I don't believe that. Are you sure?"

"Afraid so", Eliot confirmed. "He made that story up so that he could leave the bag with the bomb. And I fell for it."

He grimaced.

Annie did not react to that. She just stared at the remains of her shop, the front ripped open like a gaping wound, the shelves charred or broken and whatever had been spared by the blast and the fire was now getting destroyed by a mixture of soot and water from the fire hoses. She felt her knees buckle and her legs failed her. She would have fallen had Eliot not grabbed her in time.

"Hey!"

"Why don't you sit down for a bit?" Nate asked, and both men carefully steered her towards the Tesla where she thankfully sank to the passenger seat.

"My shop", she said in a small voice. "It's gone."

"I'm so sorry", Eliot said. "I shouldn't have left. It's my fault."

"No", Nate cut in, his voice sharp. "It isn't. It's Farnham's fault. And Mr Baseball Cap's. Not yours."

"But if I had stayed I could have done something."

"Yeah, you probably would have taken out the trash ... and what good would that have done me?" Annie said. "Or you would have been in the shop while I took out the trash and been blown to pieces. As much as I enjoy your company, I'm quite glad you weren't there."

Eliot didn't know what to reply to that. He still felt like he should have done something to prevent this.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked after a while.

"Nothing. Farnham won, didn't he? The shop is gone. There is no way I can reopen it any time soon. Even if I get compensation from my fire insurance, which I seriously doubt. Do they pay for bombs? I don't think so. It will take month to settle this. It's over. And besides, I would not want anyone to get hurt in this. If I had known that Farnham would be so ruthless, I'd have just given in." Annie started to sob.

"Don't" Eliot said and squatted down beside her, pulling her into an embrace. "Don't give up. We'll find a way to get back at Farnham." He looked at Nate. "Won't we?"

"It's what we do", Nate said simply.


	8. Woodworms and Roaches

**A.N.: **Okay_ folks, it has been too long. I know and I am sorry. But yesterday I received two nice reviews for this old abandoned thing and therefore decided to get back to it. The main reason for abandoning this story, btw, was that, as already predicted, the little organic food store I used to work for closed down after not one but two organic supermarket chains moved into the area. No need for hostilities on their part ... we just folded under the pressure of competition. And I hoped for Eliot Spencer to march in and safe the day until the last minute, but of course it didn't happen. So for I while it was just too painful to continue writing this. Hence the delay. But now I am back and I plan to see this thing through to the end. _

* * *

»Listen, Eliot, why don't you take Annie home?« Nate suggested. Annie shook her head in protest.

»But shouldn't I stay here? Talk to the police and stuff? I can't just leave now.« She wanted to get out of the car, but Eliot gently pushed her back into the passenger seat.

»Let Nate take care of that. He is good with this kind of thing. I still think I should take you to a doctor to get you checked out, though.«

»No, really, I'm fine. Nothing a hot shower and a good night's sleep couldn't remedy«, Annie assured him. Eliot shrugged his shoulders.

»Home it is, then. How are you getting away from here? Do you want me to pick you up later?« The last was directed at Nate you casually waved him off with his hand.

»No, no worries, Hardison can pick me up with the van.«

»The van that is still at the workshop?« Eliot reminded him.

»Your truck then« Nate decided. Eliot shook his head firmly.

»No. Hm hm. There is no way, Hardison is gonna drive my truck. Last time he emptied a whole cup of slooshy in there ... and that was when he was only a passenger.«

»Dude! That was months ago ... that was ... I cannot believe you still hold that against me« Hardisons voice sounded hurt in his earbud.

»Don't worry ... I can drive«, Parker happily chimed in. Eliot rolled his eyes, feeling trapped.

»Hardison«, he growled, »I swear, if I find as much as a chewing gum wrapper or a drop of liquid that does not belong there, I will make you lick the floor clean with your tongue, do you get that?«

»There is really no need to be so nasty ... you make it sound as if I'm up for the superslob of the year award ... I do know how to take care of things, you know? It is not as if I ...«

»With your tongue!« Eliot repeated firmly, cutting Hardison off.

Despite of what had happened to her shop and even though she only witnessed half of that exchange, Annie couldn't help but smile.

»I really like your friends«, she said, when Eliot finally got onto the drivers seat. He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was softer.

»I trust them with my life, you know. Almost every day.«

»But not with your car«, she observed dryly.

»That's something different.« But he could not help but smile himself now.

He started the car. Then he looked at Annie questioningly.

»Where to?«

Annie looked at him confused.

»What?«

»I know you run this little shop and I see you almost daily, but I have no idea where you live«, Eliot explained.

»Corner of Washington and Green«

The hitter frowned while he set the car into motion.

»Not the nicest of neighborhoods.«

»What do you expect? I run an independent organic food store. That's not as lucrative as people seem to think it is.«

She sounded defensive.

»I didn't mean it that way«, Eliot hurried to assure her. »It just does not seem to be a very safe place for a woman on her own.«

»It's not as bad as its reputation. Most of my neighbors are very nice. We help each other out, look out for each other. In many of the 'better' neighborhoods you don't find that anymore.«

The drive took only a few minutes.

»Best park over there« Annie suggested, pointing at a small parallel parking booth beside the road. Eliot reluctantly obeyed. Most other cars he could spot were a lot older and cheaper than the Tesla. It stuck out like a flamingo in a murder of crows. But Annie seemed unconcerned. She waved at an elderly black man who was leaning on his windowsill in one of the groundfloor windows of an old, pretty run down apartment block.

»Hey there, Georgie.«

»Hey Missy. You alright? You look like crap.«

He was missing a few of his front teeth, making his words hard to understand, but there was real affection and concern in his voice.

»Bad day at the shop«, she admitted. »We had a fire.«

»How bad?« George wanted to know.

»Pretty bad. Shop's gone, I'm afraid. Look, I am not up for talking about it now. I will come over for a cuppa tomorrow and tell you about it, hm?«

»Yeah, sure. My door is open for you. You know that.«

He smiled a toothless smile.

»I know, George. Take care.«

»You too, Missy. You too.«

Annie turned towards Eliot.

»See what I mean? No one is going to touch Nate's car, now that George knows you belong to me. He will guard it.«

Eliot was still not convinced that the old man could do much to prevent the car from getting stolen or vandalized if someone set his mind to it, but he let the matter be. Annie led the way to a doorway. The heavy door was only leaned to. Alarmed the hitter looked around.

»Looks like someone has been here.«

Annie laughed.

»No. Don't worry. The lock broke years ago and the landlord just never got round to fixing it.«

»You mean, it is just open like that? Day and night?«

»No, at night Grace bolts it from the inside. She lives on the ground floor. If you get home later than midnight, you have to wake her up, so that she can let you in. I don't think the bolt is necessary, but she says, she feels safer that way, even if it means she sometimes has to come to the door in her nightgown to let stragglers in.«

A group of four boys, aged between six and ten came running down the stairs. Eliot was a bit baffled at how much they all looked alike. One of them stopped when he saw Annie.

»Do you want to come play baseball with us, Annie?« he asked. She smiled and shook her head.

»No, sorry, not today, Pedro. I am really tired. Maybe another time, okay?«

She gave the little guy an affectionate pat on the back as he ran past her.

»The Gonzalez gang«, she explained to Eliot. They live on the first floor. Poor Maria, she had twins twice, and then her husband left her. Don't get me wrong, they are nice kids, but it's tough raising them on her own. I really don't know how she manages to juggle two jobs and the household.«

The house did not have an elevator and Eliot noticed that even in her current state, Annie climbed the four flights of stairs to her apartment with ease and without getting out of breath.

Annie pointed out the other doors while they climbed up.

»This is where Jack and Edward live. They are gay. Edward is a barber and Jack works for the city as a gardener. And that's Mr Miller's apartment.«

She lowered her voice.

»He is a bit weird. We don't even know his first name, he insists on being called Mr Miller. He keeps mostly to himself. But I am sure, he is really nice as well. Just not as outgoing as the others. Maybe he is just shy.«

»Annie, there are not just good guys in this world« Eliot cautioned her.

»Yeah, I kinda noticed that recently«, she reminded him. »But most people are pretty nice if you give them a chance. It is just a very small percentage of really nasty ones that give everyone else a bad name.«

Finally they reached the top floor. Eliot noticed that at least the apartment door was fitted with a half decent lock. When Annie got the key from her pocket, he took it from her.

»Let me. Wait here.«

She did not protest when he unlocked the door and stepped into her apartment first. It was smaller than the ones on the lower floors because the slope of the roof took some of the space away. It had only one small bedroom and a rather nice living room with a kitchenette in one corner. The bathroom was build under the slope and so narrow that Eliot couldn't even stand up straight in it. After he had made sure that no one was in there, he called out for Annie.

»You can come in. It is safe.«

»Of course it is safe. It's my home. Do you want a cup of tea?«

Eliot nodded.

»Yes. But you will sit down on the sofa and I am going to make the tea. Just tell me where I can find everything.«

Annie wanted to protest, but actually, she felt more exhausted than she wanted to admit. So she obidiently sat down on the red two seater and leaned back into the cushions with a sigh.

»What a day«, she said, while Eliot busied himself with putting the kettle on and searching for teabags. He was pleased to find quite a collection of loose leaf tea instead.

»Darjeeling, Ceylon or Oolong?« he asked.

»Oolong«, she decided. »But don't throw away the tea leaves after you take them out. The second infusion ...«

»... is the best«, he completed the sentence. »I know.«

Annie smiled.

»Of course you do. I forgot how much you care about good food.«

Eliot opened the cabinets of the small kitchen to find a teapot, cups and saucers. He was quite impressed with how efficiently Annie had stocked the little space available. The boards and shelves held everything you needed for cooking and dining, not just for a single household, but also for at least five guests. A small fridge had been fitted neatly under the counter and there was a two flame gas stove accompanied by a small electrical oven.

»No microwave«, he noticed.

»Yeah. Those things are awful. I mean, I am not worried about the radiation thing so much, but the food just never really tastes right. It never really warms you up inside, no matter how long you heat it.«

»I know exactly what you mean«, Eliot answered while serving the tea.

Annie took the cup he offered her and smiled.

»Look, my hands are still shaking.«

He sat down on a small armchair, close enough to gently place a hand on her knee.

»Annie, you just had a near death expirience, you are probably concussed and your livelyhood has been blown to pieces. I'd say you have every right to feel a bit shaky right now.«

They both took a few sips of tea in silence. Eliot looked around in the small living room curiously. The furniture was mostly old. Not the expensive antique kind of old, more the handed down from generation to generation kind of old. He spotted an oak sideboard that took up most of one wall.

»That must have been very difficult to bring up here« he said and gestured towards it with his chin. Annie shrugged.

»I wouldn't know, really. It was already here when I moved in. Maybe it has always been here. I love it, though. Lots of storage space. And it has woodworms. Sometimes I imagine them living in little families, having their own adventures. I make up stories about them in my head.«

Eliot looked around further.

»You don't have a television«, he observed. That pleased him. »Neither do I.«

»TV dumbs you down«, Annie said. »Besides, the woodworms are much more exciting.«

Eliot felt himself unwind. The cozyness of Annie's little place and her trust in the people around her made him relax in a way he very rarely could, even when he was with the team.

He almost jumped when he heard Nate's voice in his ear.

»Eliot? We are on our way over. Is it safe?«

»Safe as houses«

Annie looked at him questioningly. He pointed with his finger to his ear in explanation.

»Nate says they want to come over. Is that alright with you?«

»All of them?« she asked. »How nice. It's going to be a bit crowded, but yeah, of course it's fine.«

»The address is Washington ...« Eliot started to say, but Hardison interrupted him.

»Way ahead of you. Did you know that Annie has a degree in archaeology, by the way?«

»Archaeology?« Eliot said with genuine surprise.

Annie was confused.

»How do they know that?«

»Hardison is a hacker. He can't help himself. It's what he does.«

Annie roled her eyes.

»So I guess now is the time to come clean about the two times I was arrested as well, hm?«

»Once for smoking marihuana and once for ... ooh you gonna love that ...«

»Hardison, shut up« Eliot said, took the earbud out of his ear and switched it off.

»Archaeology?« he repeated. »Really?«

Annie laughed.

»That was ages ago. I guess at the time I thought it would be all adventures and exciting discoveries, you know, Indiana Jones and all that. After two years I spent in the basement of the local museum, dusting off and sorting shards of ceramics, I had enough of it.«

»So you opened an organic foodstore instead?«

»Nah ... first I travelled for a few years ... France, Tibet, Ukraine ...«

»Ukraine? Why would anyone travel to Ukraine?«

»Have you been? The people are really nice.«

Eliot tried to put the image of the Butcher of Kiev from his mind.

»Not all of them«, he said.

»Anyway, when I came back to the States I worked different jobs for a couple of years: cleaner, office assistant, farmhand ... I lived in my car and saved every dime I could. And when I had laid aside a few thousand bucks, I opened Annie's Foodbasket«

»I am glad you did«, Eliot said and meant it.

The phone rang. Annie went to get it. She froze when she identified the caller's voice.

»Well, Mr Farnham«, she said pointedly with a look at Eliot and pressed the speaker button. »What can I do for you?«

Eliot fumbled the earbud out of his pocket and switched it on.

»Nate!« he urged quietly. »I think you should listen to this.«

.Farnham's voice was oozing with fake sympathy.

»I heard what happened to your little shop today. A gas explosion, was it? How unfortunate.«

Eliot ground his teeth. It took him a lot of self control not to rip out the phone line. How dared this bastard to call Annie and gloat about what he did? Annie's voice lost the last bit of pleasantness.

»What do you want?«

»Well, you will understand that my offer to buy your business no longer stands ... I mean, with the business gone, what's there to sell? Still, I feel bad leaving you hanging in there without any assistance. You will need to get back on your feet somehow, after all. I could help you with that.«

»You are offering me money?«

»An interest free loan to get you over the first difficult months«, he specified. »Let's say, 20,000? Of course there are conditions.«

»What conditions?« Annie wanted to know.

»You take the money and you leave town. Find a new life somewhere else, preferably not in the organic food business.«

»You bastard«, Annie growled. Eliot raised an eyebrow. It was the first time he had ever heard Annie address anyone other than kind and friendly. »You must be really afraid of me. Why is it so important that I leave?«

Farnham's voice didn't change a bit in tone.

»Well well, you had a bad day. Maybe you need some time to think about it. My offer still stands. I will be in touch again.«

He hung up. Annie put the receiver back with so much force the phone rang once in protest. Eliot wanted to punch someone very badly. Preferably Farnham. But since he was out of reach, he looked around for something he could smash. Then he remembered that he was in Annie's place and that the last thing she needed was for someone to destroy more of her belongings today. He went over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

»Are you okay?«

»No. No I am not. How dare he? How dare he call me and offer me money?«

Her hands were clenched into fists, her jaw set.

»Nate, did you get that?« Eliot asked quietly.

»Yes, all of it« Nathan Ford replied at once. »And I think Annie is right.«

»Of course she is right. That cockroach has some guts to call her after what he just did to her, I am gonna ...«

»No, that's not what I mean. I mean, she is right about the fact that he is afraid of her. We have to find out, why. Here's what we gonna do ...«


	9. Two Sides of the Coin

The rest of the team arrived. Even though Sophie and Eliot urged her to just sit down and relax, Annie wasn't satisfied until they all had found a comfortable place to sit and had a beverage of their choice in their hands. She would also have started to cook, but Hardison had planned ahead and brought in Chinese.

While they ate, she listened to Nate's plan with more and more awe on her face.

"Seriously, guys, who are you people?" she asked.

Nate looked her in the eye.

"We are help", he said. "It's what we do."

"But why?"

"Because you are a very nice person, Annie, and you don't deserve these things happening to you", Eliot explained. Annie wasn't satisfied with that.

"But I can't let you risk all that for me. You could get hurt. You could get arrested. I don't want for you to get into trouble because of me. Why can't we just inform the police? I mean, with blowing my shop up, Farnham clearly went too far."

"I thought you didn't want the police", Eliot said.

"Yeah, because I didn't want healtch and safety on my back ... but now, a health inspecton of the Foodbasket is no longer a concern. I mean, what could they find? Mould on the debris?"

Nate shrugged his shoulders.

"Your call", he said. "But I doubt that the evidence we have against Farnham would hold up in court. We have to get him to screw up right in front of the police."

"I don't think he is likely to do that", Sophie said.

"Exactly! And that's why we are going to make him. Let's steal a police station." Nate smiled while he said it. Annie choked on a sip of her tea and started to cough.

"You what?"

But Nate was already elaborating on the plan.

"Eliot, you will act as Annie's new business partner. That will allow you to insure her safety and will also serve as an explanation to Farnham how she got the funds to open a new shop so quickly. Annie, you will call Farnham back and tell him that you recline his offer for good, because you will reopen the Foodbasket in a new location ... let's say ... next Saturday."

"Next Saturday? I cannot reopen that fast ... I have no furniture, no goods to sell ... nothing. And where is that new location supposed to be?"

Nate ignored her questions for the moment.

"Hardison, I need you to check into the business connection between Farnham and Farm Friends. Find out while Annie poses such a problem for him. Sophie, you and Parker will prepare the police station for our visit on Saturday."

Sophie looked at him puzzled, then her face lit up.

"Oh ... two sides of the coin ... the Ianus Scam ... yeah, that could work."

"What do I need to do?" Parker wanted to know. "Do I get to jump from the roof?"

Sophie shook her head.

"Sorry, darling, not this time. I need you to help me promote healthy eating."

Eliot, probably thinking of Parker's weird breakfast habits, let out a snort.

"Good luck with that."

"Next we need a few extras. Since we cannot really advertise Annie's new shop location publicly, we need to provide some fake visitors to make the thing look real. Both things that is. Sophie, some of your theater friends, maybe?"

The grifter laid her head to one side thoughtfully.

"I don't know ... I have been a bit out of touch with that scene lately."

Eliot interrupted her.

"Maybe you don't need to. I think I know just the right people for the job. Annie, don't you think your neighbors will just love to help you out on this one?"

"Would they be in any danger?", the young woman wanted to know.

"Not at all", Nate said convincingly.

"Then I am sure they would be delighted to help", Annie said. "But I still have no idea what this is all about."

"How good is your knowledge of ancient Roman myth?" Nate asked.

Eliot raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Archaeology?" he reminded his team.

Annie shrugged,

"Yeah, I think I am familiar with most of the deities and storylines involved. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"What do you know about Ianus?"

Annie didn't have to think long.

"One of the oldest Roman gods. He has two faces, the beginning and the end. That's why the first month in the calendar is called January. He also symbolizes any form of ambivalence."

"Two faces", Nate stressed. "Making different people see different things. That's what the Ianus Scam is about. In our case, Farnham will see a newly opened organic foodstore. The police wil see a charity event on their premises, promoting healthy eating for indigent families."


End file.
